I recently bought a new house WITHOUT a basement. It didn’t even have an unfinished dungeon for me to set up my PJ. There is, however, a second family room, or play room if you will, upstairs. Originally, I figured this would not do and I would just sell my home theater gear and get a new hobby. With a little help from the old ball and chain (OBnC) I decided I can have a theater in the kid’s play room with out crippling fear of its destruction during the children’s first unsupervised minute alone.

To elaborate on my last ‘theater’: It wasn’t so much a theater as it was a hodge podge of components thrown together, as I imagine, in the same way most people get into this hobby. A few old 3LCD XGA office projectors from my wife’s office projecting on a DIY screen in a dingy, dark unfinished basement next to the washer and dryer is where I hung out. My 5 year old receiver powered my late 60’s Sansui speakers my dad brought back form Vietnam. This was augmented by some crappy Bose in-ceiling speakers, which I also got from my wife’s office, and an older 12” sub. It was lower quality than my living room setup, but I loved the 96” wide screen-door-riddled-picture on my blackout cloth screen.

As everyone knows, theaters have a way of upgrading themselves. Still don’t have everything I need for the theater, but Im close.

Display: Barco Data 1209s
Screen: Draper 103” Multiview (2.35/16:9 with motorized masking)

Receiver: Sony 3300ES
Speakers: L-R Paradigm Monitor 9’s
C Paradigm CC-370
Sub Paradigm PDR-12

Components: PS3
Wii
DVD

Other: Furman Power Conditioner

Planned upgrades:
pre/pro
Dedicated amplifier
New PJ
Surround speakers


Since the theater’s main purpose will be the kids play room, security of my stuff is a main design element. The automated screen was goal A#1. I found it by chance on craigslist, got a great deal, and was a perfect excuse to ditch the DIY screen. The size is actually ideal for my current CRT PJ and the 2.35 feature is perfect to upgrade to, which will probably be happening soon (more on that later). A#2 was to get the components out of reach. They will be in a closet with an IR repeater.

I have an equipment rack, but not sure if I will be using it since I plan to put the components in a closet. It would probably be easier, and by easier I mean cheaper, to throw things on a shelf rather than make a way for most of the non-rack stuff to install in the rack. Plus, then I can sell the rack.

Since the PJ will be hung high and only a target for balls, nerf missles, and other thrown objects, that means everything is safe. Am I leaving something out? Yes, I left out the speakers. I know. I will make sure the surrounds I get will be wall mountable and I guess I just have to hope that the rotten kids don’t damage the others. Ive considered lots of other options, but I think I am screwed in that department and Ive conceded a few scratches on the cabinets and a few matchbox cars in the ports. Nothing I cant deal with.

Right now, both of the kids are using the theater/play room as their bedroom/play room because I am in the middle of remodeling the downstairs. The hardwood is waiting to be picked up and as soon as I install it, I can move them down where they belong and the the fun will start.

I will need help along the way. Please give me your comments, ideas, what Im doing wrong, and so on. Ill post some pics of the room and then I can explain how the lay out will happen.

Its an oddly shaped room occupying the upper floor of a cape cod. Its 16’ wide and an average of 20’ long, but that’s bound to change, because it will be getting walled off to make a foyer and office nook at the top of the stairs. The final dimensions will be closer to 18’x16’. It kind of looks like this |==\ (use you imagination for now). It will eventually look like this |=|. Pics are on their way.

Questions I know I will have along the way are: (I am still a whiles away form implementing any suggestions)

Soundproofing the floor and other room acoustic ideas?
Venting the equipment closet?
What to do with my odd shaped/angled ceiling?
7.1/5.1?
Wii sensor bar?
Kids stuff storage ideas?
Making the OBnC happy?

i dont have much to add but you can find wireless wii sensor bars everywhere and they work really well. just mount that below the screen.. or depending in the screen perhaps on the bottom of it? just ideas good luck

I had originally considered that but everything is going to be in a closet. Im sure the wireless wii sensor is IR. Will any IR repeaters carry that signal too?

Oh crap, what about the wiimotes? Im not even sure how those work. I guess that is something to look into. Does anybody have any experience with a Wii in a closet or hidden rack. If its not possible, its not that big of a deal; I dont play the wii much and neither do my kids.

The Wiimotes are bluetooth... and the sensor bar is just an LED emitter... the cord from the sensor bar to the Wii is only used for power, not data.

The Wiimote reads the location of the LEDs on the sensor bar and then it transmits the location data back to the Wii.

I have a wireless sensor bar on the top of the frame for my screen and the wii is a good 20' away, towards the back of the room.

Thanks. That toatlly jogged my memory now about the sensor bar not actually being a sensor, just a couple IR LEDs for the wiimotes to pick up. Thats good news about the bluetooth. It seems the Wii issue is settled.

Excuse the total mess, this room is functioning as a play room, living room, and two kids' bedrooms. And storage, too, cant forget the storage. I didnt bother cleaning for pictures, sue me.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t13/hailtoby/houseprogressapril2009020.jpg

The first pic is basically the screen wall. It is aboiut 16 feet wide at the floor and about 12 wide at the top of the trapezoid. The screen will be installed in ceiling. It is 11 feet wide 2.35 with automated masking.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t13/hailtoby/houseprogressapril2009020withscreen.jpg

Its actually kind of nice that when the screen drops down, it will cover the window. dont get me wrong, there will still need to be blinds and curtains, but it doesnt hurt to have another layer blocking it out. Theres only one other window in the room. It is in a nook and it faces south. By 5 or 6 in the afternoon, there isnt much sunlight coming in through it. Perfect.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t13/hailtoby/houseprogressapril2009022.jpg

The next view faces the back of the room. You can see the stairs that lead to the main level, the master bedroom straight back, and a "quarter-bathroom" to the left. It is about 18 feet from wall to wall on the right hand side. The walls dont remain parallel on the left though. I plan on continuing the wall from right to left. The extra space behind the wall will serve as a a/v closet.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t13/hailtoby/houseprogressapril2009022withwall.jpg

Yeah, I have l33t paint skillz.:)

I originally wanted to bring the wall in about 4 feet so I could create a foyer at the top of the stairs. The room just isnt big enough, I think. I will probably rig something up out of cardboard to see for real. So far its just been my imagination and a 12' tape...and the old ball and chain.

There are knee walls to the left and right that will facilitate the storage of all the kids toys and the TV will be removed. I am going to put a smaller flat panel, maybe on the screen wall, for the kids to use on an everyday basis. It will proabbly have its own dedicated DVD player. The oldest only plays videogames with me, so I dont have to worry about that yet. When the time comes, the Wii or whatever next big system is, will probably be mainly on the small TV and moved to the projector on occasion.

I have a 3day weekend starting on Friday, so I am going to see how far I get on the hardwood install downstairs in the kids' REAL bedrooms. Hickory Bellawood, it looks so nice:

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t13/hailtoby/houseprogressapril2009019.jpg

The other 3 walls in the boy's room are yellow. I am making some stencils of the solar system for the red wall. Being a geek, of course its to scale. The planets diameters and distances from each other are both to different scales so they would fit on the wall and be able to be seen. Too many kids grow up not knowing 1. How small the earth is relative to the rest of the solar system (actually the whole interior) and 2. just how vast the solar system is, even without pluto.

Anyway, as soon as I clear out the theater, Ill do some accurate measurements and do some sketchup to really get a feel of everything.

It looks like I might be getting to use the full width of the 2.35 screen, sooner rather than later. I got a great deal on the screen off of craigslist, it was a no brainer to buy it, but I also liked the idea of future expansion. I have liked the idea of cinemascope for a while and always planned on going to it after I switched from CRT to digital. It didn’t hurt that the 16:9 portion of the screen was a decent size for my current CRT.

Long story short, I am in the middle of an insurance claim (I knew the moving company was gonna break it)with my Barco. God knows how long it will take to settle, but whether there is a repair made ($ for Curt) or they provide a replacement, Im not sure whats happening. Luckily, I have a couple months before Ill be ready to watch anything, anyhow.

Im generally displeased with how they handled my stuff during the move. My speakers were pretty mint with no scratches or dings and now they look like I got them from the thrift store. That might be an exageration, but they dont look new anymore. The corners are all jacked and the cabinets are scratched. It really annoyed the hell out of me. I have a feeling I am going to be out of luck on that kind of stuff, which sucks, but I dont know how to be properly reimbursed for cosmetic damage to expensive items. Anyone have any experience with that?

Even with a moving company involved, yeah you can do the insurance claim and roll the dice, but i will ALWAYS move my own gear. Nobody to blame but yourself if anything happens. (And you always know best on how you want to treat your hardware, the moving guys? They don't care, it's not theirs...)

Im generally displeased with how they handled my stuff during the move. My speakers were pretty mint with no scratches or dings and now they look like I got them from the thrift store. That might be an exageration, but they dont look new anymore. The corners are all jacked and the cabinets are scratched. It really annoyed the hell out of me. I have a feeling I am going to be out of luck on that kind of stuff, which sucks, but I dont know how to be properly reimbursed for cosmetic damage to expensive items. Anyone have any experience with that?
Unfortunately, yes, although it was furniture and not speakers. It was a PITA, but ultimately it helped a lot that I had several good photos of the furntiture taken just prior to the move that documented what it looked like (it was NOT my first move!). Ultimately it came down to a financial settlement, based on written estimates from 3 different places to repair the damage and restore them to pre-move condition, less an estimate of depreciation for how old they were. It wasn't as much as I wanted, but it eased the blow a bit. If you don't have much proof of the original condition and/or purchase date/cost, it will be harder.

Good luck.

Even with a moving company involved, yeah you can do the insurance claim and roll the dice, but i will ALWAYS move my own gear. Nobody to blame but yourself if anything happens. (And you always know best on how you want to treat your hardware, the moving guys? They don't care, it's not theirs...)

I wrestled with that for a long time, but when it comes down to a 250lb PJ and no one but my wife and kids to help me unload it (we moved out of state) it was an easy decision. I also moved a month before the rest of the family to start my job and close on the house. It would have been even more inconvenient to move my own gear.

hailtoby,

Welcome and first off sorry to hear about your damaged gear. I have had my share of both careful and caring/disrespectful/bull in a china shop moving/delivery experiences.

Your plan seems good to me, seems a good use for your space. What colors are you thinking for the room? Darker is better for your theater but you needn't go black to realize a better experience.

Keep us posted on your progress and good luck.

Regards,

RTROSE

hailtoby,

Welcome and first off sorry to hear about your damaged gear. I have had my share of both careful and caring/disrespectful/bull in a china shop moving/delivery experiences.

Your plan seems good to me, seems a good use for your space. What colors are you thinking for the room? Darker is better for your theater but you needn't go black to realize a better experience.

Keep us posted on your progress and good luck.

Regards,

RTROSE


Im not sure about the colors yet. Not black, for sure, but maybe blue-ish. The screen wall and the back wall will darker colored than the side walls with whatever color I choose.

I am getting closer to getting work done on the room. The hardwood is taking longer than I expected to install downstairs. Its a reall bee-otch working from bedrooms through the hallway around corners and up against the wall. I will make my way upstairs soon, though.

I finally finished one of the kids bedrooms downstairs. Emptied the theater room of all the kids bedroom related items, only to fill it back up with everything that was in the living room. As soon as the living room floor is done, I can empty the theater out again and start on it.

In the mean time, I did leave an area in front of the 60" TV. It quickly became occupied by my recliner and followed by some 3.0 "surround" sound.

Its gona look good. :)